Forty percent of providers surveyed said 10% or more of their claims are denied, essentially flat from 41% in 2025 but up from 31% in 2022, according to an Oct. 28 report from Experian Health.
Experian’s 2026 “State of Claims” report is based on a survey of 204 healthcare professionals in finance, billing, registration, reimbursement, claims and collections roles. The survey was conducted Aug. 5-23.
For the first time in the survey, services not covered was the most-cited reason for denials. Here are the top reasons for denials, based on how often each appeared in respondents’ top three:
- Services not covered: 53%
- Frequently changing payer policies: 31%
- (tie) Code inaccuracy errors and difficulty obtaining prior authorization: 25%
Other findings from the report:
- 68% said denials occur at a higher rate than a year ago.
- 79% of respondents said payer reimbursement is more challenging, up from 76% in 2025.
- 78% said payer policy changes are more frequent, up from 77% in 2025 and 67% in 2022, the survey’s first year.
- 64% said time to reimbursement is increasing, down from 68% in 2025.
- 53% said errors in submitted claims are increasing, compared with 54% last year.
- 65% said submitting clean claims is more challenging than it was 12 months ago, down from 68%.
- 43% said 5% to 15% or more of their denials stem from inaccurate data collected at registration and intake, down from 52% in 2025 and 53% in 2024.
- 89% said reducing denials is a priority for their organization in 2026, up from 82% in 2025 and 76% in 2022.
Read the full report here.
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